Tag: Jacoby Ellsbury

Does Brian Dozier have a 20/20 vision?

Brian Dozier
Brian Dozier

Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, 27, hit his 19th home run yesterday and he has 16 stolen bases giving him a real shot at becoming just the sixth Twins player (Torii Hunter did it twice) to join the exclusive 20/20 club with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases. With about a third of the season left to play, he has an outside shot at becoming the Twins first 30/30 player. No Washington Senators player between 1901-1960 ever accomplished a 20/20 season.

Previous Twins players with 20/20 seasons

Rk Player HR SB Year Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B RBI BB SO BA OPS Pos
1 Kirby Puckett 31 20 1986 26 161 723 680 119 223 37 6 96 34 99 .328 .903 *8/H
2 Torii Hunter 29 23 2002 26 148 604 561 89 162 37 4 94 35 118 .289 .859 *8/HD
3 Larry Hisle 28 21 1977 30 141 620 546 95 165 36 3 119 56 106 .302 .902 *78/D9H
4 Corey Koskie 26 27 2001 28 153 649 562 100 155 37 2 103 68 118 .276 .850 *5/HD
5 Marty Cordova 24 20 1995 25 137 579 512 81 142 27 4 84 52 111 .277 .839 *78
6 Torii Hunter 23 21 2004 28 138 569 520 79 141 37 0 81 40 101 .271 .805 *8D/H
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/23/2014.

A 20/20 season does not seem that difficult but in the last 10 seasons in the American League  only 17 players have accomplished this feat (Grady Sizemore did it four times) and there are some pretty good players on this list. Hopefully the slick fielding Twins second baseman Brian Dozier can join this list this season, it would be a pretty nice feather in his hat. I have no clue why the Twins haven’t signed Dozier to an extension as yet, the price keeps going up.

AL players with 20/20 or better seasons between 2005-2014

Rk Player HR SB Year ? Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B RBI BB SO BA OPS Pos
1 Mike Trout 27 33 2013 21 LAA 157 716 589 109 190 39 9 97 110 136 .323 .988 *87/D
2 Coco Crisp 22 21 2013 33 OAK 131 584 513 93 134 22 3 66 61 65 .261 .779 *8D/H
3 Mike Trout 30 49 2012 20 LAA 139 639 559 129 182 27 8 83 67 139 .326 .963 *87/9H
4 Alex Rios 25 23 2012 31 CHW 157 640 605 93 184 37 8 91 26 92 .304 .850 *9/H
5 B.J. Upton 28 31 2012 27 TBR 146 633 573 79 141 29 3 78 45 169 .246 .752 *8/DH
6 Jacoby Ellsbury 32 39 2011 27 BOS 158 732 660 119 212 46 5 105 52 98 .321 .928 *8/HD
7 Dustin Pedroia 21 26 2011 27 BOS 159 731 635 102 195 37 3 91 86 85 .307 .861 *4/H
8 Jeff Francoeur 20 22 2011 27 KCR 153 656 601 77 171 47 4 87 37 123 .285 .805 *9/H
9 Curtis Granderson 41 25 2011 30 NYY 156 691 583 136 153 26 10 119 85 169 .262 .916 *8/HD
10 Ian Kinsler 32 30 2011 29 TEX 155 723 620 121 158 34 4 77 89 71 .255 .832 *4D/H
11 B.J. Upton 23 36 2011 26 TBR 153 640 560 82 136 27 4 81 71 161 .243 .759 *8/H
12 Shin-Soo Choo 22 22 2010 27 CLE 144 646 550 81 165 31 2 90 83 118 .300 .885 *9/D
13 Alex Rios 21 34 2010 29 CHW 147 617 567 89 161 29 3 88 38 93 .284 .791 *8/HD7
14 Bobby Abreu 20 24 2010 36 LAA 154 667 573 88 146 41 1 78 87 132 .255 .787 *97D/H
15 Shin-Soo Choo 20 21 2009 26 CLE 156 685 583 87 175 38 6 86 78 151 .300 .883 *97D/H8
16 Nelson Cruz 33 20 2009 28 TEX 128 515 462 75 120 21 1 76 49 118 .260 .856 *9/DH7
17 Ian Kinsler 31 31 2009 27 TEX 144 640 566 101 143 32 4 86 59 77 .253 .814 *4
18 Curtis Granderson 30 20 2009 28 DET 160 710 631 91 157 23 8 71 72 141 .249 .780 *8/H
19 Bobby Abreu 20 22 2008 34 NYY 156 684 609 100 180 39 4 100 73 109 .296 .843 *9/HD
20 Grady Sizemore 33 38 2008 25 CLE 157 745 634 101 170 39 5 90 98 130 .268 .876 *8/D
21 Alex Rodriguez 54 24 2007 31 NYY 158 708 583 143 183 31 0 156 95 120 .314 1.067 *5/D
22 Curtis Granderson 23 26 2007 26 DET 158 676 612 122 185 38 23 74 52 141 .302 .913 *8/H7
23 B.J. Upton 24 22 2007 22 TBD 129 548 474 86 142 25 1 82 65 154 .300 .894 *84/DH
24 Grady Sizemore 24 33 2007 24 CLE 162 748 628 118 174 34 5 78 101 155 .277 .852 *8/HD
25 Gary Sheffield 25 22 2007 38 DET 133 593 494 107 131 20 1 75 84 71 .265 .839 *D/79H
26 Ian Kinsler 20 23 2007 25 TEX 130 566 483 96 127 22 2 61 62 83 .263 .796 *4/H
27 Grady Sizemore 28 22 2006 23 CLE 162 751 655 134 190 53 11 76 78 153 .290 .907 *8/HD
28 Johnny Damon 24 25 2006 32 NYY 149 671 593 115 169 35 5 80 67 85 .285 .841 *8D/H3
29 Alex Rodriguez 48 21 2005 29 NYY 162 715 605 124 194 29 1 130 91 139 .321 1.031 *5/6D
30 Grady Sizemore 22 22 2005 22 CLE 158 706 640 111 185 37 11 81 52 132 .289 .832 *8/H
31 Alfonso Soriano 36 30 2005 29 TEX 156 682 637 102 171 43 2 104 33 125 .268 .821 *4/DH
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/23/2014.

UPDATE as of August 21, 2014 – Brian Dozier became just the sixth Twins player to record a 20/20 season of at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases with his 20th stolen base of the season on Wednesday against the Indians at Target Field.

Twins claim Clete Thomas on waivers from Tigers

Clete Thomas

The Twins announced today that they have claimed 28-year-old outfielder Clete Thomas (bats left and throws right) on waivers from the Detroit Tigers who had designated Thomas for assignment on April 12th. The Twins expect Thomas to be at Target Field tonight prior to Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers. The Twins made room on their 40-man roster, by transferring right-handed pitcher Scott Baker to the 60-day disabled list. The Twins will make a corresponding roster move prior to adding him to the 25-man roster.

Michael Clete Thomas was first drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round of the 2002 amateur draft but did not sign and ended up being drafted by the Tigers in round six of the 2005 draft and he signed with the Tigers at that time. Thomas worked his way up through the Detroit minor league system before making his major league debut on March 31, 2008. Thomas appeared with the Tigers in 40 games in 2008, 102 games in 2009 and then spent 2010-2011 with the Tigers AAA team in Toledo. This season he appeared in 3 games with Detroit but had no plate appearances. In the big leagues, Thomas has appeared in 145 games hitting .253 with 8 home runs and is 5 for 5 in stolen bases. Thomas has played all three outfield positions while with the Tigers. In the minors, Thomas has shown the ability to steal a base with 148 steals in 192 attempts. In 2011 Thomas hit a career high 12 home runs with Toledo.

You have to wonder what the Twins see in Thomas and why they want to put him on the 25 man roster. Who will the Twins send down to make room for Thomas? My guess is that Ben Revere may well be Rochester bound if indeed the Twins keep Thomas. The other option of course is that the Twins are going to make some kind of a deal, maybe with Boston since the Red Sox just lost Jacoby Ellsbury for 6-8 weeks due to a shoulder injury yesterday and there have been rumors floating around that Clete Thomas was someone that the Red Sox were interested in. Were the Tigers trying to slip Thomas past everyone on waivers so that they could make a deal with Boston? Who knows.

Here are some thoughts on Clete Thomas from a Tigers blog at Motor City Bengals.

UPDATE: The Twins announced that Ben Revere was optioned to Rochester after Saturdays game.